


The Christmas Vows

by Ava_now



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Love and Marriage, Sweetness, gettin' hitched
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:14:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28297335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ava_now/pseuds/Ava_now
Summary: After many years and many struggles, Rafael Barba and Olivia Benson get married on Christmas night.
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Olivia Benson
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26
Collections: Barson Secret Santa 2020





	The Christmas Vows

**Author's Note:**

  * For [@ThatEsqCrush](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=%40ThatEsqCrush).



> Merry Christmas, Kas! I hope you enjoy this little fic. I wasn't sure what to go for, so I decided I might as well go big or go home, sio I hitched 'em! In all fairness, i have also been watching a LOT of Four Weddings lately, so...
> 
> I hope you're having a wonderful holiday and this brings a little smile to you!

The snow was falling gently outside, bright white against the darkness of Christmas evening. The inside of the small ceremony room was lit with candles and decorated with red and white roses, as well as white hyacinth at the end of each aisle. There was a beautiful white aisle runner lined with red rose petals leading up to the small table that would be used during part of the ceremony. A unity candle, surrounded by those same petals, sat upon it. A piano, accompanied by a violin, played softly as she walked down the aisle. She held a bouquet of red roses with a jewel highlighting the center of each one. She walked alone; she was her own woman, and had no desire for anyone to give her away like property. Her son had a more important role as a best man, and the rest of her biological family was long gone. The same was true for her beloved, patiently waiting at the front of the church, his smile lighting up the world for her as it always did. They were in this together, as they had been for years, and as they always would be.

The music stopped as she stepped next to him and the people in the room were seated.

She was breathtaking before him; of course, he’d had no doubt she would be. He’d envisioned this moment for years--the moment when they’d finally stand here and become one, that everyone would know how deeply he loved this woman. Her dress was ivory, a mix of lace and embellishment. He’d told her to spare nothing. This was to be her dream day. They both had searched for far too long, wasted way too much time, to worry about dollars and cents. Still, he knew that she’d exercised the very pragmatism that was part of what made him fall for her. The dress, while not being the most stunning on the racks, was the most stunning on her. It skimmed her body, and she’d never been more gorgeous to him. It was sleeveless with a sweetheart neckline and a lace-up back, a slight train, and she wore a short veil in her curled hair. Her lipstick matched the roses in her bouquet and the one he wore in his lapel. 

He took her hands in his.

It had taken them years to get here, every single one of them a meaningful part in building a foundation between them that was unbreakable. They trusted each other implicitly now, though they hadn’t always before. She’d chosen other lovers, refusing to acknowledge the obvious in how he felt for her. He’d left her with a kiss on the forehead and a sorry thank you. There had been hurt and pain, but there had been warmth and beauty too. He was there for her when her son was kidnapped. She sat behind him during his trial for manslaughter. She’d been his date at his mother’s wedding, and he’d accompanied her to her Captain’s ceremony. And then they had built a life together day after day, night after night. Conversations and errands, spaghetti dinners and dance recitals, movies and after work cocktails and all kinds of activities that filled their lives over time. Things that seemed not worth talking about, but in reality, built the beauty of their lives together. They’d raised her son together. They’d supported one another’s careers. They’d already been there for better or for worse, in sickness and in health. For richer or poorer, but together, they made life rich every day. There was no “poorer” when they were together.

Her smile was bright as she told him, “You are my best friend. You are my heart and my soul. You are what makes life beautiful to me, and I choose to be your wife, today and every day after.”

The young man they’d raised stood a few feet away, next to the man he’d grown to call “Dad”. He shuffled his weight from one foot to the other, and his mind randomly settled on a memory from his childhood. One where his mother’s boyfriend that year--he thinks the man’s name was Peter--was supposed to take him to a special father-son event at his school. He can still remember the tears in his mother’s eyes as she spoke with the man on the phone…”But he’s been so excited, Peter!”. Peter didn’t show up, but the man he now calls Dad did. This man made it, and he’s made it ever since. And he’s proven that blood doesn’t make families the way that love does.

And now he’s saying his vows.

“You’ve taught me more about not only love, but about life, than anyone I’ve ever known. You and Noah are my life, and I am so extraordinarily blessed by that. I choose to be your loving, faithful husband every day, for the rest of my days, and I will love you with my whole heart, the way you deserve to be loved.”

Odafin Tutuola has always been up for a new adventure, and today he’s marrying one of his oldest colleagues to a man he’s finally deemed as worthy, after a couple of decades. He hands a ring to Rafael, winks at him, and says, “Rafael, please put this ring on Olivia’s ring finger and repeat after me.” 

Rafael and Olivia exchange rings. As Olivia slides Rafael’s ring on, she joyfully repeats, “With this ring, I thee wed,” and it’s hard to tell which of them is smiling more.

Fin grins at both of them. “Rafael, Olivia, it is my great honor to now pronounce you husband and wife. What God has joined together, let no man put asunder. Now go on, get your first married kiss!” And they do, a kiss only shadowed by the fact both of them are grinning to the point it’s hard for their lips to latch properly.

Joy surrounds them in the room. The rest of the night will be a fabulous party, the best of their lives, with dancing and drinking and eating and merriment. But now, this moment, is perfect and joyful, and truly the best Christmas either of them has had.


End file.
